The Depths of Insanity
by Nightwing1104
Summary: "That shadow, he's there. Always there... I can feel it. Everyday, there's someone there..." Stormpaw's eyes turned cold and harsh, and he glared defiantly at Jayheart. "I-I'm not crazy, I'm not!" (Please R&R. Enjoy.)


**Hello, everyone! Welcome to, "The Depths of Insanity." I hope you enjoy. **

**Warning: This is rated T because of some gore towards the end. Just letting you know now. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Warriors.**

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Stormpaw sighed, dragging himself out of his nest. His whole body ached, and his eyes felt strained and worn-out. He hadn't slept at all last night, because of... Well, he wasn't really sure what was bothering him last night. But he knew that there was someone in the den with him, watching him. He was the only apprentice in his Clan at the moment, which only added to the sense of paranoia he felt. It was maddening.

It was like this every morning. Stormpaw never had a peaceful day. He was constantly looking over his shoulder, his ears pricking every time he heard the slightest noise or sound. He had lost friends because of this paranoia, and even his parents had drifted away from him. Or, he had pushed them away. It didn't really matter to him anymore.

Outside, his mentor, Jayheart, stood, waiting for his apprentice to emerge. The silver and blue warrior frowned when he saw the condition his apprentice was in. Stormpaw looked even worse today. His blue eyes were bloodshot, his dark gray pelt matted and horribly messy.

"Uh, hey, Stormpaw..." Jayheart smiled a little, waving his tail at Stormpaw.

The apprentice didn't respond. His gaze was fixed on the ground, his eyes wide. Stormpaw was also shaking a bit, which worried Jayheart even more.

"Hey, why don't you just stay inside for today?" Jayheart mewed, trying to nudge Stormpaw back inside the apprentice den. "Some rest will do you some good."

"It won't make a difference."

Stormpaw's voice made Jayheart freeze. It sounded commanding and slightly threatening, and Jayheart quickly backed off. He didn't want to stress Stormpaw out anymore.

"Every time I close my eyes, I see that... That thing. There's someone stalking me... I can feel it."

Stormpaw's eyes turned cold and harsh, and he glared defiantly at Jayheart. "I-I'm not crazy, I'm not!"

With that, Stormpaw stomped toward the camp entrance. Jayheart tried to follow, but Stormpaw's threatening growl made him stop and back away. Stormpaw took one last look behind him, and then disappeared in the forest.

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When Stormpaw left, clouds had begun to cover the sun, and the land began to grow darker. The scent of rain traveled along with the wind, and Stormpaw knew that heavy rains would be on their way soon. He should be getting back to camp. But there was just one problem with that. He didn't know where the camp was.

Stormpaw had traveled so far out, that he had managed to get himself lost. He knew he was somewhere in the heart of the forest, a place where cats had almost never ventured. And now, Stormpaw had no idea which direction camp was in. After some thinking, he just decided to stay put. Hopefully, his clanmates would go out to find him and bring him home.

The sound of a twig cracking made Stormpaw flinch. He whipped his head around, trying to find the creature who caused the noise. He expected to find a bird, or a squirrel. But instead, he found nothing. Searching around in the area behind him, he couldn't even find the twig.

Another crack behind Stormpaw made his heart beat quicken. He turned his head again, his blue eyes looking desperately for the thing that caused the noise.

"It's all in your head, Stormpaw. It's all in your head..." He whispered, trying to calm himself down.

But his tactic wasn't working. In fact, it was failing. Another crack sounded, followed by another. Another new noise was added to the mix as well. Someone was whispering something. The words were unintelligible, which only added to Stormpaw's nervousness.

"Who's there?" Stormpaw asked, "Who are you?!"

A sharp gust of wind shoved Stormpaw back, making him stumble and fall on his side. He found one of the twigs that had caused the noise, but not in the way he wanted to. The twig had pierced him in his side, and a small trail of blood seeped out of the wound.

Tears began to form in Stormpaw's eyes as he struggled onto his paws. "Who's there?!" He called again, his voice becoming more and more strained and desperate.

Shadows swarmed in his periferal vision, but when Stormpaw turned to look, the shadows were nowhere to be found. He knew his mind was being toyed with. And he couldn't help but fall victim to this twisted game of cat and mouse. Him being the mouse, and his tormentor being the cat.

"WHO'S THERE?!" Stormpaw screeched at the top of his lungs, falling to the ground in frustration.

He began to find those twigs that had cracked and caused him fear, one by one. The wind had made them fly into the air, the fragments and sharp pieces being thrown toward Stormpaw at an impossible speed. One fragment impaled Stormpaw in the shoulder; One in the side; One in the side of the neck, but not far enough in to kill; And finally, the worst one of all. One long, sharper piece of twig than the rest impaled Stormpaw in the eye.

A agony-filled scream ripped through the air as the twig went farther and farther into Stormpaw's eye, and he thought the pain would never end. It felt like he was being clawed in the face thousands of times, and there was no way to get the attacker off.

Stormpaw fell to the ground, blood forming a pool around his convulsing body. The twig had managed to get far enough in so that the brain was affected. Stormpaw didn't have much longer now.

"W-Who's there?" Stormpaw whispered feebly, "Tell me."

_"I am Twigleg." _A rather loud, rough voice whispered back in Stormpaw's ear. _"And now, I am no longer alone."_

Stormpaw's impaired vision was beginning to fail, and he began to fade in and out of consciousness. His last moments were spent gazing into the amber eyes of an elderly tom, shadows covering his pelt. The cat lifted his paws, resting them on Stormpaw's head. And then he pushed down with great force.

Everything immediately cut to black, but not before blood sprayed across his vision.

_"I am no longer alone in death."_

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_Stormpaw's body was never found after that day. His Clan had eventually given up the search, and he was pronounced dead a few days later. The only trace of him was a pool of blood he had left in the forest. His story is now a nursery tale, used to remind kits not to stray too far from the Clan and the nursery, or else they will end up mad and lost forever._

_Some say that if you go out into the forest on a stormy night, you can hear Stormpaw's screams and cries. If you listen close enough, you can hear him saying, "I'm not crazy, I'm not!" Over and over again._

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**And that concludes this story. This is the first Warriors horror story I've wrote, so if you could, be gentle! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed!**


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